Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Arlington Texas comes to mind. I lived there for about 4 months, and was shocked to find out that although the city has a population of 380,000, public transportation is non-existent. Whenever I would mention this fact to residents they didn’t see the point of public transportation, thought everyone should just by a car. City officials could care less about mass transit either, and were much happier to use the city’s tax dollars for building stadiums and other attractions, then becoming a member of DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) or TRE (Trinity Railway Express).
Any other cities out there with anti-mass transit mentalities
Arlington,Texas is the Largest us city without Public Transit which is retarded thinking these days. Majority of the anti-Transit cities are in the south , some Great plain cities. Collage towns and cities are exempt for that type of thinking mostly.
Cincinnati has had trouble getting its mass transit in gear for the last decade, but we're finally building the first line of our light rail . Honestly, I've seen the craziest, most ignorant reasons on why we shouldn't have mass transit here. Although Cincy was built around streetcars, the city now is completely car dependent and so many people are unaware of how mass transit works, and the effects it's had on most cities. Funny that the removal of Cincy's mass transit coincided with its population loss.
In 2002, there was a movement to have lightrail/subway throughout most of Hamilton County. This was proposed during the same time the Minneapolis system was proposed. They went trhough with theirs; However in Cincy, it was voted down because of a .5 cent tax increase. That's right, half a cent. At the time, the head of our transit authority (SORTA) was against mass transit and did alot to steer people away from embracing the proposed routes.
It was implied that the federal government rated the proposed plan as one of the worst in the nation, come to find out the goverment doesn't even rate transit systems. SORTA also promised alternatives to curb excessive traffic (such as adding diamond and hov lanes on our highways) Too bad none of our highways are equipt to be able to handle HOV lanes, and in the 8 years since there's not been any mention of it at all.
Lately there has been massive investment in our city core, and mass transit has to be incorporated to give us an edge on raising property values and decreasing surface lots downtown. People here are so backwards they don't want it because "it will travel through an undesirable area that will only serve degenerates" . But if they could only see the bigger picture and the long-run, the once blighted neighborhoods will be fully restored within the next decade.
For any city to be truely succesful and reach its peak, mass tarnsit must be incorporated. It's a basic amenity of an urban environment and helps create a vision for what a city can potentially be.
Arlington Texas comes to mind. I lived there for about 4 months, and was shocked to find out that although the city has a population of 380,000, public transportation is non-existent. Whenever I would mention this fact to residents they didn’t see the point of public transportation, thought everyone should just by a car. City officials could care less about mass transit either, and were much happier to use the city’s tax dollars for building stadiums and other attractions, then becoming a member of DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) or TRE (Trinity Railway Express).
Any other cities out there with anti-mass transit mentalities
I knew Arlington would be in here before I even opened the thread. I went to college in Arlington and still live in DFW. From what I understand, the mentality came about when Vandergriff was mayor.
Thankfully, the city has been taking baby steps toward a solution. The TRE has a stop near 360 and Trinity (which is technically Fort Worth, but is still close enough to Arlington). There are also shuttles going around the Entertainment District during events.
I really think the Metroplex would be MUCH more connected if Arlington would get on the ball with mass transit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by le roi
everywhere i've ever lived, it was just common local knowledge that mass transit was for poor people only. it was seen as akin to welfare.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kidphilly
I think that is only in cities with bad systems...
That was a common theme that I heard living in Arlington. Many people thought that the "riff raff" would be the only ones riding, as that group can't afford cars. As if the lack of public transportation has made Arlington into an affluent suburb
That was a common theme that I heard living in Arlington. Many people thought that the "riff raff" would be the only ones riding, as that group can't afford cars. As if the lack of public transportation has made Arlington into an affluent suburb
the thing is, when you have a poorly designed transportation system, this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
if people have to walk across 110 degree blacktop parking lots, and cross 6-lane roads of 45 MPH, for example, then they're going to choose to drive instead.
the thing is, when you have a poorly designed transportation system, this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
if people have to walk across 110 degree blacktop parking lots, and cross 6-lane roads of 45 MPH, for example, then they're going to choose to drive instead.
The city was built the way it was because of that mentality. I'm sure that if mass transit had been implemented, the city would have made improvements to the existing infrastructure.
Quote:
Originally Posted by neotextist
When you say Arlington is without mass transit, do you mean they don't even operate city buses?
That's correct.
There are a few "specialty" shuttles, though (for elderly/handicapped citizens, for students at UTA [not sure if this shuttle still operates], and for visitors in the Entertainment District [but I've only seen them on game days]).
Other than that, you get around by car.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. Honestly, I've seen the craziest, most ignorant reasons on why we shouldn't have mass transit here. Although Cincy was built around streetcars, the city now is completely car dependent and so many people are unaware of how mass transit works, and the effects it's had on most cities. Funny that the removal of Cincy's mass transit coincided with its population loss.
